Easy A (2010): easy C-, really

I know, heresy! I shouldn't be writing about a modern movie, I've done that in few occasions and they all were related with old movies (like The Painted Veil review). But, I feel I need to warn you about this one, because everyone was talking about it and it got lots of good reviews. I really don't know why.

Easy A (2010)  is like The Scarlet Letter set in modern times. Like 10 things I hate about you was based in William Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew and Clueless was "based" on Jane Austen's Emma, etc. OK, the connection is really pale, but the main character does mention that you should see the movie instead of reading the book, but one of the old versions, not the one with Demi Moore because her English accent was bad and... whatever.

So...Easy A. Really bad movie. Why? I don't know about you, but I detest scripts that want to break the record of sex jokes per minute, not matter if they end up being gratuitous and unconnected. In this teen film, everyone is obsessed with sex: the school counselor, the main character's parents, her best friend, the whole school, the priest, etc, etc.

Emma Stone plays a girl who accidentally ruins her reputation by inventing she had a one-night stand and gets the attention of her peers. For some reason, Emma Stone's character wasn't noticed by the rest of the students before this polemic episode, so she starts enjoying all the buzz around her and decides to magnify the lies. The result is that the 98% of the people she knows believes she is a slut, which is not funny at all, as she discovers (duh).

Besides the unappealing story, this film contains terribly stereotyped characters, like Amanda Byne's religious fanatic schoolgirl character, the kind guy that always loved Emma but didn't tell her until the end of the movie, Phoebe Buffay  Lisa Kudrow playing the crazy and unhelpful school counselor, the nice teacher that believes in her student and, of course, the ultra liberal parents played by Staley Tucci and Kevin Costner's wife in The Untouchables (Tucci even asks his adopted kid where did he come from). I didn't really connected with any of them. 

Yeah, maybe Emma Stone did a good job portraying the sarcastic, learned, but completely inconsistent main character, but that would be the only positive characteristic of this film. Oh, and the sequence where she gets a musical card with a catchy tune that she doesn't like but ends up singing it in out loud in different moments during a weekend:

End of the fun stuff. So, trust me, don't rent this mash up of that really stupid movie called American Pie and the entertaining  Mean  Girls and save one hour and a half of your life.



PS-- Even when in the film they refer to the 1934 version of the The Scarlet Letter, I plan to see the silent one starring Lilian Gish, looks great!!

The parent trap (1961): what a charming film!!

Sorry I haven't written lately. On the life part of the blog, uhm, I finished watching the first two seasons of a really funny (modern) series, Parks and Recreation, starring Amy Poehler. It's hilarious! Also, I've been enjoying lots of great Australian Open tennis matches (my favorite sport by far, any other fan out there?). Oh, I bought an ukulele because I though it would be easier to play than a guitar, and it wasn't. I've been listening to genius Glenn Miller and even saw his biopic, The Glenn Miller Story, starring James Stewart and June Allyson. Went to see a play and it was kind of funny, but very basic. Also, I reached page 274 in Errol Flynn's entertaining autobiography, My Wicked Wicked Ways; I'll review it soon. End of the report--

Also, on Saturday I watched for the first time the original The Parent Trap with Hayley Mills and Maureen O'Hara. OMG, I loved it! I had seen the one with Lindsay Lohan and Natasha Richardson several times and liked it. But the old one is way better, so entertaining and charming. Hayley, just as in The Trouble with Angels, is super awesome as the twin sisters that want to bring together their divorced parents.

I'm trying to figure out what makes Hayley be so effective in these kind of movies, what made her a super Disney star. Cool British accent, looked innocent but seemed always be thinking in her next prank, the screenwriters gave her witty lines in most of her films so you wish you could behave and talk like her, and most of all, she always seemed to be having a great, summery, colorful, time.

Maureen O'Hara is really funny as her mom and looks beautiful. Starts being all serious, but then she loosens up and the real fun begins: clever remarks against her ex husband's fiancée, punches in the eye with Irish wilderness, being cute with a priest to have him on her side, wearing her ex's robe, etc.

I hadn't seen Brian Keith before, but my mom said she knew him from some series, I don't know which one. He's great as the dad too and he had great chemistry with Maureen. My favorite part is when one of the Hayley Mills wants to tell him the truth about the twins mix up, but he thinks that she wants to talk about sex, which becomes a really awkward and terribly funny scene (click to watch it). LOL.

Another thing that stand out is that Una Merkel is on it! I don't care if she has like 5 lines as Verbena, the housekeeper, but it was great to see her again. Oh, the dad's girlfriend from this movie had really bad hairdo so you kind felt sorry for her. The actress that played the part, Joanna Barnes, also appears in the new version as the mom of her former character. 

So, I had a blast watching this film, really. It has entertaining summer camp scenes (they are always funny), awesome-non-distracting effects to show Hayley + Hayley, a lovely house near a lake that I wish I had, appealing performances and a great script. Plus a super catchy song, Let's get together, with which I leave you.

 Youtube Alert : This film is available to watch online.

Happy Old Song: Tu vuò fà l'americano

I haven't post any song for my series "Happy Old Songs" this year. This first entry is a bit different, since I'm just going to do justice to one song: Tu vuò fà l'americano. Right now, a cover of this song, We No Speak Americano by a band called Yolanda Be Cool is everywhere, even in adds with audio in lots of websites. Probably most people dancing to this techno cover doesn't know that the tune is actually 54 years old!

1956. Renato Carosone and Nicola Salerno write this song. It's about the Americanization of an Italian guy:

TRANSLATION (source):

You wear trousers with a patch at the back

A small cap with the peak up

You walk making boaster for Tuleto

Like a bully to make watched you

You want to be American

American, American

Who makes you do that

You want to follow the fashion

But if you drink whisky and soda

You don't seem to be disturbed.

You dance rock'n'roll

You play baseball

But the money to buy Camel cigarettes

Who gives them to you?

Your mother's purse!

You want to be American

American, American

But you were born in Italy

Hear me out

You've got nothing to do with it

Ok, Napolitan

You want to be American

You want to be American!

How can the one who loves you understand you

If you speak half American?

When you make love under the moon

What will you say? "I love you"?

(repeat)

1960. Sophia Loren sings it (twice) in the movie It Started in Naples (Melville Shavelson), also starring Clark Gable (I have to check this film).





2007. The Puppini Sisters, one of my favorites retro bands cover this song. There are many other versions, but this one is my favorite. Here's it live:



2010. Australian band Yolanda Be Cool releases We No Speak Americano, which becomes #1 in many countries.

Which one is your favorite?

 More great music :

Happy old songs 
"All I do is dream of you": pick your favorite version
Happy Old Songs are back! 
Xmas albums from two of my fave retro bands :)
Happy Old Songs from Nora Ephron films
More Happy Old Songs
And even more Happy Old Songs

Mini reviews: The black swan (1942) vs. The sea hawk (1940)

[Pirate Talk Mode on] Ahoy...[Pirate Talk Mode off] No, whatever, I don't want to activate the Pirate Talk because both films let me down, so they don't deserve it. Why? Let me explain:

The Sea Hawk (1940; Michael Curtiz): 

One of my brothers loved it, the other was so bored that left the room, I didn't like it very much. I hate when films that obviously are not there to teach us History but to entertain us, waste time showing political speeches that no one will remember and boring reunions of Queens and random guys, etc. This is what happens in The Sea Hawk. Errol Flynn plays a corsair, not a pirate, because he's serving for the Queen (Elizabeth). The whole plot is about the diplomatic relations with Spain, supposedly a friend of England. Well, Errol discovers that they are planning an attack, plus falls in love with Doña María (Brenda Marshall), but he's a very shy pirate so their encounter is postponed. The first part of this movie is very boring; then it takes off, when Errol and his mates are enslaved by the Spanish guys, and then there's fights and action, and everything a pirate film should have. But too late in my opinion. 

The Black Swan (1942; Henry King)

Remember Errol playing a shy corsair? Well Tyrone Power is completely the opposite. In the first minutes and with a happy tune, he aggressively beats Maureen O'Hara playing an aristocrat, leaving her unconscious. So, really, I didn't mind about their relationship and the movie was practically about it. When a friend of Tyrone assumes as Governor of Jamaica, he declares the end of the pirate era. One of them, a cruel guy doesn't agree and with some powerful connections wants to unseat the Governor. Tyrone now has to defeat the enemy and try to win Maureen's heart...after kidnapping her. Of course, The Black Swan has good things, like Technicolor, some funny moments and lots of action, but I couldn't forget that coward slap at the beginning so it was hard to root for Tyrone...and the movie. 

So, Captain Blood remains my #1 pirate movie; followed by The Crimson Pirate with Burt Lancaster (read my review).

PS--  Congrats to everyone who participated, writing, reading or commenting, in the CMBA's Hitchcock Blogathon. It was great!

 More adventure films :

• The thief of Bagdad: an entertaining adventure
• Tarzan The Ape Man (1932)
• The Mark of Zorro (1940)
• Tarzan and His Mate (1934): a sexy film
• Adventure movies or what I'll be watching in the next few days

CMBA Hitchcock Blogathon: Torn Curtain (1966)

The event we all were looking forward to is finally here. Yay! At the end of this post I'll add all the links to the other reviews, try to check them all and comment, I'm sure you will be pleased. 

Let me start this review by saying that one of the reasons I became a Classic Movie lover was Mr. Hitchcock. You can read all about that in Hitchcock or how I became a Classic Movie Lover (duh). I've seen more than 30 of his films, even lesser known movies like Family Plot (I don't remember much about it though).

I decided to review Torn Curtain, a movie that critics didn't love and fans don't remember, but I really like. Probably, if it had been made by any other director, it would have a different reception, but hey, it has to compete with films that always are at the top of the lists of best films ever. It's not its fault that it was made by a genius. Maybe you've heard something about it because it marked the end of the collaboration between Mr. Hitchcock and the great composer Bernard Herrmann, but not because it was a correct suspense film.

My dissection of this underrated film, next:

The story:
I know you'll agree with me, Hitchcock was a romantic guy. In my opinion, all his movies are romantic films set in a suspense climate. This one is no exception. In the middle of the Cold War, an American scientist (Paul Newman) and his assistant (Julie Andrews) are in love. They're spending time together in cruise ship heading to Coupenhagen, where he has a scientific conference. She says that they should marry before honeymooning, but they don't seem to care because in the sixties the movie censorship was practically over. Anyway, Julie doesn't know about the "real" plans her fiancé has. He is going to East Berlin (tearing the Iron Curtain) to try to finish his super duper experiment, Gamma 5 aka The MacGuffin of this film, that was cancelled by the American government. With it, the Cold War would be over. The script had many writers and never completely convinced Hitchcock nor Newman.
 I overall liked it because it was never boring.

Suspense:

A lot. Warning, spoilers ahead. Like in every movie from Mr. Hitchcock, there are several sources of tension: the main relationship, the many situations that a normal man has to face in a unknown country, the people they meet, the music, the way Hitch shoots some scenes, etc. At the beginning, from Julie's point of view, we are intrigued by the way Newman starts acting, receiving strange phone calls, lying and being aggressive. Then, when the couple finally arrive to East Berlin (and we learn that Paul was working to steal a formula for the benefit of his own country), he has to face really dangerous situations, even killing a man in one of the most remembered scenes of this movie, plus trying to get vital information for his experiment. Finally Paul and Julie, now reconciled but number one on the most wanted list of the country, have to escape from East Berlin.

The last part is the best and contains my favorite scene in the whole movie: the bus scene. The couple is helped by an organization called "Pi", which has a fake bus in which Paul and Julie have to travel in their escape. To make things look real, "agents" of Pi travel in this bus. Well, the whole sequence is great: the real bus approaches and if the officers on the road notice it, they might suspect. It's one of the best examples of Hitchcock's work and just because of it I would recommend this movie.

Newman and Andrews were the studios' choice.

Leading actors:

When I think about improbable casting, I always remember this movie (and well Robert Mitchum + Katharine Hepburn + Robert Taylor in Undercurrent and some others). The thing goes this way: Hitchcock wanted Eva Marie Saint and Cary Grant, but Universal, "suggested"  Julie Andrews who had just released The sound of music and Paul Newman. So, there you have, four incredibly blue eyes put together for the first and only time in a movie. But not everything is great. I've thought a lot about this, and came to the conclusion that maybe some people don't like this movie because Paul and Julie don't seem to have a grrrreat chemistry. They look great together, they're even shown in bed together, but in my opinion their relationship was cold as the Cold War. But I really don't mind, because it works anyway, since they are arguing, being chased or just in different places most of the time. 

With Lila Kedrova who plays one of my fave characters of the movie.

Supporting Cast:

Terrific, they really stand out. We have Wolfgang Kieling as the German agent that follows Paul Newman everywhere. He's tough, solid, menacing, but has charisma. Then there's Tamara Toumanova, who plays a Russian ballerina who's jealous of Paul Newman because he's stealing her all the attention of the press. She's mainly a comic relief at some points, but also represents a menace. Also great was Lila Kedrova as the extravagant Polish woman that needs a "sponsor" to go to America. Lila gave her character such a pathetic quality, that I always remember her.

Plus Ludwig Donath who plays Professor Lindt, the guy who knows the formula and all the "Pi" agents are really great because all of them seem to have a background and not only a being a random character.

Music:

Hitchcock wanted a more commercial score for this movie and didn't like what Bernard Herrmann had done. So he fired him, ending one of the greatest collaborations between a director and a music composer. He hired English composer John Addison, who did a great job in my opinion and it even sounds like something Bernard would have composed. The main theme, a fast melody which features tense violins with some reliefs coming from the clarinets, is one of my favorites and it fits in a great way the bus scene. I also love the Love Theme. 

Some people say that Herrmann's score would have been a great addition to this film; some DVDs include bonus scenes with this score and even people in Youtube have made the experiment with the Intro, After Gromek's death, The Formula, etc. Well, I think it would have been great too, but I don't have problems with Addison's music. You can read more about Herrmann and Hitch in this great article.

Final Thoughts:
This movie should definitely be more appreciated. It contains all the signature elements from Mr. Hitchcock's movies and it's never boring. Maybe Paul and Julie didn't have the greatest chemistry ever but it's not a tremendous con; I've seen Torn Curtain many times and it has never bored me.
I like the fact that Hitch continued using his usual methods even in the mid sixties, like shooting in front of screens.
I don't mind it at all, because his works were from a parallel world, a wonderful world constructed entirely by him and with his own rules.

 CMBA Hitchcock Blogathon: The complete list 

(Updated with the published entries)

Official site: http://clamba.blogspot.com/

1. The Birds – Classic Film & TV Café 
2. Dial M for Murder – True Classics: The ABCs of Film 
3. The Lady Vanishes | North by Northwest | Under Capricorn – MacGuffin Movies 
4. Lifeboat – Classicfilmboy’s Movie Paradise 
5. The Man Who Knew Too Much – Reel Revival 
6. Mr. and Mrs. Smith – Carole & Co.
7. North By Northwest – Bette’s Classic Movie Blog 
8. Notorious – Twenty Four Frames 
9. The Pleasure Garden – Thrilling Days of Yesteryear 
10. Rear Window – Java’s Journey 
11. Rebecca­ – ClassicBecky’s Film and Literary Review 
12. Rope – Kevin’s Movie Corner 
13. Shadow of a Doubt - Great Entertainers Media Archive
14. The 39 Steps – Garbo Laughs 
15. Three Classic Hitchcock Killers – The Lady Eve’s Reel Life 
16. Torn Curtain - Via Margutta 51 
17. The Trouble with Harry – Bit Part Actors 
18. Vertigo – Noir and Chick Flicks 
19. The Wrong Man – The Movie Projector
20. Marnie - My Love for Old Hollywood

Coming on Monday: CMBA Hitchcock Blogathon!

In just three days, the master of suspense will be invoked from wherever he is by a crowd of worshipers via their blogs. This event is organized by the Classic Movie Blog Association and already has 20 participants. I'll be reviewing underrated Torn Curtain starring Paul Newman & Julie Andrews; you can see the rest of the registered blogs and films in this official list:

1. The Birds – Classic Film & TV Café http://classic-film-tv.blogspot.com/
2. Dial M for Murder – True Classics: The ABCs of Film http://trueclassics.wordpress.com/
3. The Lady Vanishes – MacGuffin Movies http://macguffinmovies.wordpress.com/
4. Lifeboat – Classicfilmboy’s Movie Paradise http://www.classicfilmboy.com/
5. The Man Who Knew Too Much – Reel Revival http://reelrevival.blogspot.com/
6. Mr. and Mrs. Smith – Carole & Co. http://community.livejournal.com/carole_and_co/
7. North By Northwest – Bette’s Classic Movie Blog http://bettesmovieblog.blogspot.com/
8. Notorious – Twenty Four Frames http://twentyfourframes.wordpress.com/
9. The Pleasure Garden – Thrilling Days of Yesteryear http://www.thrillingdaysofyesteryear.blogspot.com
10. Rear Window – Java’s Journey http://javabeanrush.blogspot.com/
11. Rebecca­ – ClassicBecky’s Film and Literary Review http://www.classicbeckybrainfood.blogspot.com/
12. Rope – Kevin’s Movie Corner http://kevinsmoviecorner.blogspot.com/
13. Shadow of a Doubt - Great Entertainers Media Archive http://greatentertainersarchives.blogspot.com/
14. The 39 Steps – Garbo Laughs http://garbolaughs.wordpress.com/
15. Three Classic Hitchcock Killers – The Lady Eve’s Reel Life http://eves-reel-life.blogspot.com/
16. Torn Curtain - Via Margutta 51 http://www.via-51.blogspot.com/
17. The Trouble with Harry – Bit Part Actors http://bitactors.blogspot.com/
18. Vertigo – Noir and Chick Flicks http://dawnschickflicks.blogspot.com/
19. The Wrong Man – The Movie Projector http://movieprojector.blogspot.com/
20. Marnie - My Love for Old Hollywood http://myloveofoldhollywood.blogspot.com/

So, don't forget,   January 17 = CMBA Hitchcock Blogathon . 

In which I embed some entertaining Youtube vids

Because I'm too lazy to write a full post, these are some of the videos I've enjoyed lately:

Audrey Airlines:
My brother says the voice doesn't sound like Audrey's but in my opinion it really does, plus I think it isn't offensive or something like that. My favorite part is when Mary Poppins appears on the sky:

You can watch more of these at their channel, PunchyPlayers, like Judy's Cream of Wheat.

30 second Bunnies:

This is a great "show" in which films are compressed into 30 seconds and bunnies play the memorable characters (maybe you already got that by reading the title). Anyway, my favorites are the classic films parodies. Here's Gone with the wind:

There are a lot more listed, including the classics Wizard of Oz, Kink Kong, Casablanca & It's a wonderful life.

Lucy & Red Skelton Do The Freddy The Free Loader Sketch:

I had already seen this one, of course, but it happens to be one of my favorite Lucy's moments and I enjoyed re-watching it. I'd never seen Red on anything before (and after I must say), but this clip is just an awesome class of pantomime:

Just like Errol Flynn:

Do you know the band Satire? Well, me neither, but these guys played in the early 90's and this song has been stuck in my head the last few days:

Old movies vs. Remakes: The Painted Veil

Greta Garbo & Herbert Marshall | Naomi Watts & Edward Norton

The Painted Veil (1934) vs. The Painted Veil (2006)

Basic Story: A couple marries, but she’s not in love and deceives her husband. He’s a bacteriologist so they travel to China to help to fight an epidemic. There, they will have to face the serious problems in their relationship. Based on a novel by  W. Somerset Maugham. There's another version starring Eleanor Parker that I haven't seen. 

Face to face:

Development of the story: The new version is way better in this aspect. It’s longer, but never boring. This allows it to show gradually the many stages in the relationship of the couple; something that in my opinion the older version doesn't achieve. The older version makes the love triangle something primordial; while the second only shows it as a reflection of the state of the relationship and the cause of the couple’s departure to a more dangerous town. Plus, there are more thrilling scenes in the new movie and you really get the idea of the horrible epidemic the doctor is facing.

Performances: Both films have fine actors, the new version has Edward Norton and Naomi Watts; Greta Garbo and Herbert Marshall (and George Brent) play the leads in the older version. The story required the actors to be distant at the beginning and then, after facing difficulties together and start to admire the strengths of the other, finally show their warmth and open up.
Edward and Naomi had a better developed (and uncensored) script, so they could achieve a more emotional performance. Herbert seemed to be distant (and boring) the whole movie and overall he and Garbo didn't show the great disconnection the couple has at the beginning.
On an aside note, it’s interesting to notice that the actor chosen for the role of the coward lover in the last movie, Liev Schreiber, looks very much like George Brent.

Other aspects: The new version has a simply marvelous score by Alexandre Desplat (the main theme has stuck in my head for years), plus gorgeous locations.

And the winner is... The new version, although I wouldn’t give the older one such low ratings as Imdb’s users.

 Click to watch the winner film in Youtube.

You only live twice (1967): LOL

Paragraph Film Reviews is hosting a blogathon called James Bond January. I wanted to write about any 007 film starring Sean Connery, but I already missed From Russia with love and Goldfinger, two movies I saw with my dad some years ago and I found really cool. I decided to watch for the first time You only live twice which had low ratings but a great song. This is gonna be a different review since the most outstanding characteristic of this movie is its hilarity:

The plot: Pay attention because it was really hard to me to find out what it was about. A guy with a mean-faced cat has a plan to reign the world. He invented a rocket or something that "eats" other spaceships and brings them back to their evil base in a Japanese island. The world is in the middle of the Cold War, so if they capture a Russian rocket and then an American one, the two nations are definitively destroy each other and bingo, he has complete control of the whole planet.

The women: I know that in every Bond film women are supposed to be irremediably attracted to him. But at least in the most recent films screenwriters develop some kind of story before show them together (that's why I love Casino Royale). Well, here there's no story whatsoever. Bond meets any random girl and, well, you know.All the girls in this movie wear bikini because in Japan that's what they do. I love Sean Connery, but I have to admit I prefer him older (like in...First Knight... am I the only one who loves that movie?)

The female agent: Bond is about to be killed in several occasions but luckily the female agent was parked all the time somewhere near and saves him in her super white car. They made this girl wear a white bikini and white snickers to go to the ultimate mission. It's hilarious to see her running in the evil island with her white snickers, her feet seem to have a life of their own. Plus Bond asks her to go for help, so she has to cross like a whole ocean, while a helicopter shoots at her, and then go back. Great exercise! 

The official plan: This was more ridiculous. To break and enter to the evil island and the volcano where the guy with the cat has his super base, they plan to have a legion of ninjas. But, wait, if the legion of ninjas take care of the situation, what would Bond do? Exactly, he has to become a ninja, have a wig and makeup that makes him look like Brando after being beaten in On the waterfront...AND marry a girl. Because you can't defeat the enemy without fulfill these requirements. 

The stupidity of the enemy: I know Bond would never die, but at least they could have a little scratch or something. Like when he was in a tiny helicopter wearing a polo outfit and being chased by four for real helicopters, but he destroys them all. 

The stupidity of 007: I don't know why, but in several occasions he and the female agent expose themselves to be shot without any clear purpose. In one scene they go walking to a place that seems like a dock where dozens of enemies are working and they stand there waiting for the bullets. 

Bond's lack of feelings: Remember the girl with the white snickers? Well, she dies but Bond doesn't really regret it or say something about it. What for? He already has another Japanese girl to replace her. 

Miss Moneypenny: The poor girl. She only has like two lines in the whole movie. But at the end she ruins Bond's "honeymoon" by emerging in a submarine and elevating Bond's safe boat from the water :)

5 first mini reviews of 2011 including awesome "Caged"

For some reason, I haven't been in the mood of writing reviews lately, even when I started the year very well in terms of the quality of the films I've seen. I had very low expectations with some of them but they impressed me; others, didn't. Today I finally managed to describe my feelings towards these five films, take a look:

Since you went away (1944; John Cromwell)

Who's in it: A lot of great actors, Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Shirley Temple, Hattie MacDaniel, Agnes Moorehead, Lionel Barrymore, Robert Walker.

What's it about: The life of a family during the II World War.

The good: I like the movies about war that show the domestic life of the people who stay. It gives you more elements to understand historical events. I liked all the performances, but if I had to pick my favorite it would be Robert Walker's as the shy Corporal Bill. Even when it lasts more than 2 hours, it maintains the tension about the possible loss of the father in the war. David O. Selznick produced and wrote the screenplay, so expect a magnificent musical intro and intermission (by Max Steiner), varied locations and an overall well managed drama. On the frivolous side, I also liked this guy who played a minor character.

The bad: I didn't find any flaw. I only have a very personal thing with very melodramatic scenes, they always kind of distract me, no matter if they are needed and well acted.

Should I see it?: Yes.

The bigamist (1953; Ida Lupino)

Who's in it: Joan Fontaine, Ida Lupino, Edmund Gwenn.

What's it about: A guy marries Joan and then Ida. The end.

The good: I liked the performances by Ida and Edmund. Ida makes you feel that her character doesn't expect anything good from life and you understand why is she attracted to this unknown guy without asking questions; and even when Edmund's character is breaking the law, you could understand his acts. There's dramatic tension until the end. Also, I'm crazy about movies told in flash back, so kudos just for that. I loved the trip to see the famous actors houses in LA, like Barbara Stanwyck and James Stewart's (watch a tiny part of this scene).

The bad: I didn't like the end, so that's a big con. Joan and Edmund supposedly have a terribly boring marriage, but that's told and not shown, because when they're together I didn't notice they didn't get along. I found it kind of boring at some points.

Should I see it?: I know some of my fellow bloggers loved it, but in my humble opinion there are many movies you should see before this one.

Scarlet Street (1945; Fritz Lang)

Who's in it: Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett.

What's it about: Edward is a good person, efficient worker, but his life sucks. Then he meets bad Joan and when you think his life would be better, it painfully enters in the most terribly state of decadence.

The good: I liked everything in this movie. I even liked the ending despite the fact that it was far from what I was expecting. Edward's performance is terrific as always, Joan surprised me because she played an harpy but at the same time she showed a bit of decency that made you hate her but not completely. The real BAD guy is her boyfriend, one of the most despicable characters I've ever seen, a vicious, greedy bastard with not ethics or feelings. Fritz's usual dark photography fits very well the theme of the film, and makes everything even more painful to see.

The bad: Only that I wanted the bad guy to suffer more.

Should I see it?: If you're in the mood for a dark movie, totally.

Caged (1950; John Cromwell)

Who's in it: Eleanor Parker, Agnes Moorehead, Jan Sterling.

What's it about: A young Eleanor Parker is imprisoned because of a tiny criminal act and has to endure the terrible life in jail.

The good: I LOVED this movie. I loved it so much that I saw it twice. Eleanor Parker was surprisingly awesome in this film and I'm really impressed by her chameleonic appearance in the different films I've seen her in. She's able to show such vulnerably, such discomfort and frailty that you really suffer with her. This movie has another terribly cruel character, Evelyn Harper (Hope Emerson), the matron of the cell. She's an aggressive beast who thinks that prisoners are animals, and what's more terrible she has powerful contacts so she can't be dismissed by humanitarian Head of the prison played by Agnes Moorehead. It has great secondary characters and many intense and shocking situations to show so it's never boring. This is a movie that really makes you think of the reality of prisons and how people could change if they had a chance.

The bad: SPOILER -----When I saw it for the first time, I thought that they could have managed better the change in Eleanor's character personality, like showing it more gradually, but the second time I didn't care. 

Should I see it? YES!

In the good old summertime (1949; Robert Z. Leonard)

Who's in it: Judy Garland, Van Johnson, S. Z. Sakall, Buster Keaton.

What's it about: It's the same story of The Shop around the corner, You've got mail, etc...

The good: S. Z. Sakall! I always love to see him and here he funnily plays the owner of a music shop. Also, it's a pleasure to hear Judy singing. My favorite numbers were Play that Barbershop Chord (watch) and I don't care (watch). Plus, she's funny in this one. The story of two people hating each other when you know they're gonna end up together, is always fun. At the end, you can see Judy and her real life baby daughter, Liza.

The bad: There are some adapted situations that I felt kind of forced, like Van Johnson getting fired because he lend his boss' violin. One of my favorite scenes, the one when the couple is going to meet in a restaurant and he sends a co worker to check how the girl looks, here is delivered really fast and with less intensity. Plus some characters lost presence and identity in the adaption (the man who advices the couple; Keaton's character; etc).  

Should I see it? The shop around the corner and You've got mail are better in my opinion, but this one is fun anyway. 

That's all folks!

Summertime and the livin' is easy: new blog design and pics

I hope you like my new blog design (and I really hope it works in your browser). It's summer down here, so I chose summery colors and a header picture that reflects the sleepy mood I'm in. 

While you listen to this lovely song, here are some classic stars enjoying the summer (click to enlarge):

See ya soon!